Poor Skip. He just comes in from sea and I kept him sitting in that hot
engine room for most of the day fixing electrical charging problems on
the Flying Pig. The charge controller attached to the old ferro-resonant
70A charger was disconnected. The ferro-resonant charger looked like
someone had cooked it for 4 hours in a 850F oven. It was a "golden
brown"...were the transformer used to be.....

The decision was made to join the 21st Century so we took the French
Fried Mercedes diesel to Waste Marine and bought a new Xantrex 40A, 3-
bank monster electronic charger. Flying Pig has gained 2.8" of
freeboard! The old charger weighed the same as the keel...The new
charger weighs just a little more than your cellphone...(c;

Once HE, sitting there atop the monster L16H battery box, got the charger
hooked up, it went clean to the stop at 40A! It has stayed there, ever
since, because his solar (15-20A) and windcharger (10-15A) failed to keep
up with the electrical load, leaving the batteries around 1.19 sp. gr. at
12.6V....a discharged state. We lit off the big Perkins 6 and I got to
smelling burning rubber with the alternator voltage never coming up to
14VDC. Loose belt, a new belt that had stretched coming up from FL. I
still think a 70A alternator also pulling a water pump NEEDS TWO BELTS
for this load!

We also discovered that the Winch battery in the bow is NOT connected
through the AH meter shunt in the engine room....so the charger ammeter
was pegged at 40A and the AH meter's shunt only measured 20-25A from it.

Next problem we'll work on is why all the damned charge controllers are
set SO LOW! 13.6VDC isn't going to charge batteries! 14.2VDC does! An
adjustment is in order...I hope.

God it's HOT in that boat with the engine compartment open....WHEW! I'm
soaked. I must have shed 30 gallons of body water today....

Well, tomorrow is another day....(c; My turn at the Flying Pig!

Larry
--
PU! Off to the Shower Larry!